Books like The Kingmaking

I was pleasantly surprised! To me, before I read this book, King Arthur without fantasy was unthinkable. I found straight historical fiction King Arthur sans fantasy was very enjoyable. So I think I will try Cornwell, besides continuing with this trilogy. However, I think there is a place for both treatments of the legend--both cum and sans. The story describes how Arthur rises from bastardy to become Pendragon finally to become king. "Pendragon" means the *main* chieftain--"pen" is Welsh for "head". The Red Dragon on the Pendragon's banner is the Welsh national symbol even today. Arthur wins and weds Gwenhwyfar [Guinevere]. Battle scenes and fight scenes were well done. This portrayal of Arthur for much of the book cast Arthur as an arrogant, selfish womanizer. The author did such a good job of characterization I really disliked him for awhile. It felt as though he fell asleep for awhile, then finally woke up and became the heroic King Arthur. The villainess, Winifred, and all of the Saxons and Jutes were completely one-dimensional.I liked the "Author's note" in which Ms. Hollick explained that she took what scanty material there is on King Arthur and created a plausible story. She wrote why she wrote what she did. In the front, the family trees and guide to pronunciation of names were helpful. I recommend this book for lovers of the King Arthur story to get a different slant on him.